New Game of Thrones Footage Spotlights Season 7 Costume Changes

Since there is so little revealed about Game of Thrones before each season begins, each piece of footage is crucial to fans. Last month, the new Game of Thrones Season 7 trailer was dissected to the point that a new fan theory emerged, claiming that the placement of certain characters could hint at one of their death's in this highly-anticipated run. Earlier today, HBO released a new featurette with Michelle Clapton, where she explains her process as a costume designer. Fans get a glimpse at some of the most beloved characters in all of Westeros, including a rare look at an unmasked Mountain (Hafthor Julius Bjornsson).

This preview debuted on HBO YouTube earlier today, where Michelle Clapton spoke about her earlier influences, stating that she always had her own style, which lead her to go into fashion. She was part of an influential movement in the U.K. called the New Romantics, alongside Boy George and Steve Strange, while she was a fashion student. While Michelle Clapton goes on to talk about how she realized costume design was directly tied into the narrative of a story, we get new behind-the-scenes footage of Kit Harington's Jon Snow, along with another scene of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) sitting on her throne at Dragonstone.

This video also showcases behind-the-scenes footage from the same shot that spawned the new Game of Thrones fan theory that Cersei Lannister may in fact meet her maker this season, or perhaps in the final season. Some eagle-eyed fans noticed that this shot, where Cersei and her brother Jamie (Nikolas Coster-Waldau) are both standing on a large map of Westeros, shows Cersei standing on an area of Westeros known as The Neck, while Jamie stands on an area of small inlet islands known as The Fingers. In the Season 5 premiere, the episode opened with a flashback, where a mysterious fortune teller claims that "when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you." The word "Valonqar," in High Valyrian, translates to "little brother," which Jamie Lanister technically is, since he exited their mother's womb just after his twin sister Cersei.

Perhaps one of the most interesting shots in this video features a new look at Samwell Tarly (John Bradley), who is seen among the shelves upon shelves of scrolls at Oldtown. He is seen raising a stick towards a spiderweb, but beyond the bookshelves, you can see the top edge of a green screen. It's possible that this will be used to make this library seem bigger than it actually is, but that has yet to be confirmed. There are also brief shots of Peter Dinklage's Tyrion Lannister and Liam Cunningham's Davos Seaworth, while Michelle Clapton speaks about how much harder coming up with the costumes on Game of Thrones is, since, unlike working on a period piece, you have to make everything up yourself for this fantasy world of Westeros.

This video also includes some of Michelle Clapton's costume sketches for various characters, along with more scenes with Daenerys leading her army, with Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) at her side. There are also two intriguing shots that may hint the long-awaited "CleganeBowl" is at hand, with separate shots of Sandor "The Hound" Clegane (Rory McCann) and Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane (Hafthor Julius Bjornsson), with the latter seen in a rare shot without his helmet on, which we haven't seen removed on the show since he was brought back from the dead by Qyburn (Anton Lesser). There are also brief shots of Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie), young Lyanna Mormont (Bella Ramsey), Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish (Aidan Gillen). Take a look at this new preview for Game of Thrones Season 7, which debuts Sunday, July 16 at 9 PM ET on HBO.